On the surface at least, it seems that Jon Lester was more direct in his discussion of Black September than Josh Beckett. Lester admitted that the collapse stuck with him over the Winter:"...it seemed to kind of linger in my head. I think that helped motivate me to get into the gym a little earlier and start getting the movement back for baseball. That kind of added a little desire to this year, getting back and getting ready.”
However, as with Beckett, he seemed to downplay the impact of the Beer&Chicken culture on what happened down the stretch.
"I care a lot about this team; I care a lot about this job. I hope the fans realize that [the clubhouse misconduct] had nothing to do with what happened on the field. What happened on the field happened on the field. I stunk, we stunk and we’re looking forward to really kind of proving people wrong."
Again, every fan will need to decide whether the two key pitchers on this team have sufficiently owned up to their part in the collapse, or not.
(Photo By Didier Morais via TWITTER)